Machine for folding napkins, towels, and the like



L. F. MUSTEE.

MACHINE FOR FOLDING NAPKINS, TOWELSI AND THE LIKE. APPLICMHON FILED050.22. 1919.

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$2M Mme L. F. MUSTEE. MACHINE FOR FOLDING NA PKINS, TOWELS, AND THELIKE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22,19I9- 1,404,636. a t d an- 24, 1922.

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amewtoz 5&15 1 1 L. FMusZee UNITED STATES LAWRENCE F. MUSTEE, OFCLEVELAND,

OHIO, ASSIG-NGR TO JOSEPH H. MILLER.

MACHINE FOR FOLDING NAPKINS, TOWELS, AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Application filed December 2 To 071 0. 54 m it mayconcern Be it known that T, LAJJRENCE F. Musician, a citizen of the lnited States, residing at Cleveland. in the county of Cuyahoga and Stateof Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinesfor Folding Napkins, Towels, and the like, of which the following is a.specification.

This invention relates to machines for folding table-napkins. towels andother materials, and has for its principal object to provide aneflicient automatic machine, which is positive and quick in operation.

Another objectof the invention is to provide a folding machine, which isreadily adjusted so that it may be set to fold articles of varioussizes.

With the above and other objects in view as will be readily understood.the invention will be hereinafter fully described with reference to theaccompanying drawings illustrating the machine, and the novel featuresthereof will be distinctly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the several views of the drawings similar characters of reference areused to designate corresponding parts.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a folding machine constructed inaccordance with my invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the machine, taken on line 33of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the machine, looking at the opposite sideto that shown in Fig. 1, i

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the 'machine, taken on line 55 ofFig. 1.

the operating shaft for turning over the folded towels, and

Figs. 15 and 16 are views of the co-operating parts on said shaft.

Referring to the drawings, the frame consists of a pair of suitablesides 1 and 2, which are connected by end tie-plates 3, 4 and 5, and alower central tie-plate 6. A plate 7 forming a top is fixed to saidframe, and extends from one end thereof for a Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 24, 1922.

Serial No. 346,742.

short distance beyond its center. which is provided with a transverseslot 8. Supported between the sides 1 and 2 of the frame is a suitableconveyor 9 consisting of continuous belts 10 passing over rollers 11 and12, which are carried by side pieces 13 and 14 connected by transversepieces 15. Said conveyor supported as shown at 16 or in any suitablemanner. Rotatably mounted in upright brackets 17 and 18 of the frame isthe driving shaft 19. which is rotated any suitable means to operate themachine. A belt 20 passes around a pulley fixed to the driving shaft 19and also around a pulley 22 fastened to the extending shaft 23 of the'roller 12 for drivin said conveyor.

in folding a table-napkin, towel or other articles, the same asindicated by 24, is carried upon the conveyor toward the center of themachine, and its forward end is picked up by a transversely extendingsuction head 25. which travels longitudinally over the top plate 7 so asto draw said artiole to a central position over the transveise slot 8.The suction head 25 is supported by end plates 26 and 27, carried byroller wheels 28, which travel in longitudinal slots 29 and 30 in thesides 1 and 2 respectively of the frame. Pins 31 and 32 projectlaterally from the end plates 26 and 27 respecti.ely, and these pins areengaged by the bifurcated ends 33 and 34. forming a part of lever armsand 36, which are pivoted at 37 and 38 respectively to the sides of theframe. of the lever arms and 36, and as a consequence the travel of thesuction head 25, said lever arms have slotted heads designated by 39.and the bifurcated ends 33 and 34- may be fixed thereto in variouspositions by means of a bolt 40. The lever arms 35 and 36 are rockedupon their pivots 37 and 38 by means of an eccentric 41, which is fixedto the driving shaft 19. Said eccentric actuates a connecting rod 42,which is pivoted to an arm 43 fixed to a rock shaft 44 supported in thesides of the frame, and to the projecting ends of said rock shaft aresecured arms 45 and 46, which are connected by links 47 and 48 to saidlever arms. The suction head 25 consists of a tube 49 havingclosed ends,and a fiat open side 50 across which are spaced bars 51. Branch tubes 52and 53 extend from the tube 49 of e s t n h ad 2 t9 n pp to To allow forchanging the throw which is connected a flexible pipe 55 leading to asuitable valve 56, which is adapted to control suction to said suctionhead. Said valve is connected with any suitable suction means as 57 by apipe 58. For operating the valve 56, so that the suction will act todraw a towel to the suction head 25 or cut off the suction to releasethe same,

a rod 59 is pivoted at 60 to the valve and carries adjustable stops 61and 62, which are adapted to be engaged by a block 63 fixed to the endplate 27 and slidably mounted upon said rod between said stops.

A-tthe same time that the suction head 25 is drawing the towel 24 incentral position over the transverse slot 8, a similar suction head 64is moving upwardly between a pair of guide plates 65 and 66 arranged ateach side of said slot. The suction head 64 is slidably mounted at 67and 68 upon vertical guide bars 69 and 70 fixed to the sides of theframe. This suction head is actuated from the rock shaft 44 by an arm 71fastened thereto and pivoted at 72 to a vertical connecting rod 73having its upper end pivoted to a lever bar 74, which is pivot-ally supported at one end by a shaft 75, carried by brackets 76 and 77 of theframe, while its other end is pivotally connected at 7 8 to said suctionhead. The guide plate 66 is provided with a vertical slot 79 to allowfor movement ofthe lever bar 74. Branch pipes 80 and 81 extend from thesuction head 64 to a central tube 82, which is slidably mounted in afixed pipe 83' supported by the tie-plate 6 of the frame. At the lowerend of the pipe 83 is a suitable valve 85 for controlling suction to thesuction head 64 so that it will draw a towel folded once downwardlybetween the guide plates and 66 and release the same at the proper time.The valve 85 is connected by a pipe 86 to the suction means 57. For

operating the valve 85, a vertical rod 87 is pivoted thereto at 88, anda block 89 fastened to the tube 82 and in which the rod is slidablymounted, is adapted to engage adjustable stops 90 and 91 carried by saidrod.

, When a towel is being drawn downwardly by the suction head 64 asimilar suction head 92, which is arranged vertically, is moved inwardlytoward the guide plate 65 between a pair of guide plates 93 and 94. Theguide plate 65 is provided with a central vertical opening 95 to permitthe drawing of a towel therethrough by the suction head 92. Said suctionhead is slidably supported at 96 and 97 upon guide rods 98 and 99, whichare fixed at one end to the tie plates 3 and 4 respectively andtheirother ends are fastened to the uide plate 65. For actuating the suctionhead 92, a lever bar 100 is pivoted at 101 to .an arm 102 extendingtherefrom, and

its lower end is fixed to a rock-shaft 103 supported by brackets 104 and105 of the frame. A lever arm 106 1s fixed to the rock-shaft 103,

and pivoted thereto at 107 is a reciprocating bar 108, which is providedwith a head consisting of a pair of sides 109 and 110, bifurcatedhorizontally at 111 for receiving the driving shaft 19. A suitable cam112 fixed to the driving shaft 19 between the sides 109 and 110 isadapted to engage the face 113 of the reciprocating bar 108, and thusmove the suction head 92 inwardly. After the earn 112 has forced saidsuction head up to the guide plate 65, it moves beyond the face 118 andthus allows a spring 114, which is attached to the reciprocating bar 108and the driving shaft 19, to force the reciprocating bar in the otherdirection and thereby withdraw the suction head 92. From the suctionhead 92 extends a tube'115 having a suitable valve 116 at its outer endfor controlling the suction thereto, and said valve is connected by aflexible pipe 117 to the suction means 57. For operating the valve 116,so that the suction will act at the moment the suction head 92 is upagainst the guide plate 65 to draw a towel through the opening 95 andbetween the guide plates 93 and 94, and release the same when thesuction head is at its outer position,

a bar 118 is supported at 119, and is provided withinturned ends 120 and121, which are adapted to be engaged by the lever 122 of said valve asthe suction head travels back and forth.

Themoment the suction head 92 releases the towel, which is now foldedfrom end to end and from side to side, the latter slides down upon aninclined plate 123, having spaced arms 124 and 1.25, which are fixed toan operating shaft 126. Between said aims is a shelf 127 supported fromthe frame by brackets 128 and 129, and having depending bearingsindicated by 130, in which one end of the shaft 126 is supported. Theother end of said shaft is rotatably mounted in a bearing bracket 131carried by a cross piece 132 of the frame, and fixed thereto is adisc'133. The plate 123 is turned in one direction by the shaft 126, tothrow a towel upon the shelf 127 and then turned back to its original p0sition for receiving another towel, by means of a pair of pins 184 and185, which project from a sleeve 136 fixed to the driving shaft 19,engaging respectively suitably cams 187 and 138 projecting from the faceof said disc.

In operation. a table-napkin, towel or other materials to be folded, asindicated by 24, is carried by the conveyor 9 until its forward end isunder the tube 49 of the suction head 25. The valve 56 is open to causesaid suction head to pick up the forward end of the towel and as thelever arms 35 and 86 are oscillated by theeccentric 41 of the drivingshaft 19, they move the suction head, and this draws the towellongitudinally upon the top 7 of the frame until its center is over thetransverse slot 8. At this moment, the block .68 carried by the plate 27engages'the stop iiov 62 and closes the valve 56, which shuts oil thesuction to the suction head 25, and causes it to release the towel. thistime, the suction head 6%. which actuated by the eccentric i1 of thedriving shaft. has moved up to the towel lying upon the top of theframe; and the block 89 carried by said suction head, by engaging thestop 91, has opened the valve to admit suction to said suction head foracting upon the towel. As said suction head moves downwardly, it drawsthe towel at its center through the transverse opening 8 and between theguide plates 65 and 66, thereby folding it from end to end. hen thesuction head reaches its lowest position. suction is cut oil there--from and the towel released by the block 89 having engaged the stop 90and closed the valve 85. At the time the towel is released by thesuction head 64, the cam 112 has forced the suction head 92 inwardly upto the guide plate 65, and the valve 11% has been opened by its stem 122engaging the inturned end 120 of the bar 118 to cause the suction to actupon the towel. At this moment, said cam moves beyond the face 118, andthis permits the spring lid to reciprocate the bar 108 in the oppositedirection, thus moving said suction head outwardly and drawing the towelat its center through the vertical slot 95 of the guide plate 65 andbetween the guide plates 93 and 9%, thereby folding it from side toside. As the suction head 92 reaches the outward limit of its movement,the stem 122 of the valve 114 engages the int-urned end 121 of the bar108 and closes said valve, thus cutting oii the suction and releasingthe towel. Upon being released, the folded towel falls upon the inclinedplate 123, which is thrown forward by the turning of the operating rod126, by the pin 13% ot the driving shaft- 19 engaging the cam 137, tothrow the towel upon the shelf 12?. Said plate is thrown back to itsoriginal inclined position by the pin 135 of the driving shaft engagingthe cam 138.

Although the machine constructed as illustrated and described is capable01" tolding table-napkins, towels and other materials, it will beunderstood that the details of construction may be changed within thescope of the claims.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, tie table topbeing provided with a slot, and suction means for drawing a piece offlexible material through said slot to fold said material, substantiallyas described.

2. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, and means for exerting suction pressure upona piece of flexible material intermediate a pair of its opposite edgesfor drawing said material. through said slot to fold the material,substantially as described.

In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, and suction means for acting upon thesurface of a piece of flexible material to draw it throu said slot forfolding it, substantially oescribed.

4. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, means for positioning a piece oi: flexiblematerial over said slot, and suction means for drawing said materialthrough said slot to fold the material, substantially as described.

5. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, means for drawing a piece 01": flexiblematerial through said slot to fold the material, plate arranged at aright angle to said table top, the plate having a slot, and suctionmeans for drawing the folded material through the slot in said plate tofold said folded material, substantially as described.

6. In a'folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, a suction head for acting upon a piece offlexible material lying over said slot to draw it therethrough forfolding it, means for moving the suction head to and from said slot, andmeans for controlling the suction to said suction head, substantially asdescribed.

7. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, a suction head for acting upon a piece offlexible material lying over said slot to draw it therethrough forfolding it, means for moving the suction head to and from said slot,means for admitting the suction to said suction head when it approachessaid slot, and means for cutting off the suction when the suction headis at the other position of its travel, substantially as described.

S. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, a suction head for acting upon a piece offlexible material lying over said slot to draw it therethrough forfolding it. a plate arranged at a right angle to said table top, theplate having a slot, a suction head for acting upon said folded materialfor drawing the same through the slot in said plate to fold it, meansfor moving said suction heads to and from said slot-s, means foradmitting suction to said suction heads when at said slots, and meanstor cutting oft the suction when the suction heads reach their otherpositions, substantially as described.

9. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, means for drawing a piece of flexiblematerial upon the table top and over said slot, a suction head fordrawing the material through said slot to fold the material, a platearranged at a right angle to said table top, the plate having a slot, asuction head for acting upon said folded material for drawing the samethrough the slot in said plate to fold it, means for moving sa1d suctionheads to and from said slots, means for admitting suction to saidsuction heads when at said slots, and means for cutting off the suctionwhen the suction heads reach their other positions, substantially asdescribed.

10. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a s ot, a suction head for drawing a piece offlexible material upon the table top and over said slot, a suction headfor drawing said material throughsaid slot to fold the material, a platearranged at a right angle to said table top, the plate having a s ot, asuction head for acting upon said folded material for drawing the samethrough the slot in said plate to fold it, means for reciprocating saidsuction heads,

means for admitting suction to said suction heads to act upon saidmaterial, and means for cutting off the suction to release saidmaterial, substantially as described. 7

11. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, a suction head for drawing a piece offlexible materialupon the table top and over said slot, means foractuating the suction head, means for changing the distance of travel ofthe suction head relative to said slot, and means for drawing saidmaterial through said slot to fold the material, substantially asdescribed.

12. In a folding machine, the combination of a frame, the frame havingspaced guiding means, and suction means for drawing a piece of flexiblematerial at apoint intermediate of its opposite edges through saidguiding means to fold the material, substantially as described.

13. v In a folding machine, the combination ofa table top, the table tophaving a slot, a suction head, the suction head being arranged to traveladjacent the table top, lever arms for moving the suction head, meansfor actuating the lever arms, means for admitting suction to saidsuction head to cause it to draw a piece of flexible material over saidslot and for cutting off the suction thereto to release said material,and means for draw- 7 ing said material through said slot to fold thematerial, substantially as described.

14:. In a folding machine, the combination of a tabletop, the table topbeing provided with a slot, means for drawing a piece of flexiblematerial upon the table top and over said slot, a suction head, the,suction head being slidably mounted, means for moving the suction headto and from said slot, means for admitting suction to said suction ll61to cause it to draw a piece of flexible material through said slot tofold the material, and means for cutting off the suction to release thematerial, substantially as described.

15. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, means for drawing a piece of flexiblematerial upon the table top and over said slot, means for drawing saidmaterial through said slot to fold the material, a plate arranged at aright angle to said table top, the plate having a slot, a suction head,the suction head being slidably mounted, means for moving the suctionhead to and from said slot in the plate, means for admitting suction tosaid suction head to cause it to draw said folded material through saidslot in the plate to fold the material, and means for cutting off thesuction to release the material, substantially as described. 7

16. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, a guide plate at each side of the slot, oneof said guide plates being provided with a slot, 2. guide plate at eachside of the slot in said guide plate, suction means for drawing a pieceof flexible material over said slot in the table top, suction means fordrawing said material through said slot in the table top and betweensaid guide plates at each side thereof to fold the material, and suctionmeans for drawing said folded material through the slot in said. guideplate and between the guide plates'at each side thereof to fold saidfolded material, substan tially as described.

17. In a folding machine, the combination of a table top, the table topbeing provided with a slot, a guide plate at each sideof the slot, oneof said guide plates being provided with a slot, a guide plate at eachside of the slot in said guide plate, suction means for drawing a pieceof flexible material over said slot in the table top, suction means fordrawing said material through said slot in the table top and betweensaid guide plates at each side thereof to fold the material, means fordrawing said folded material through the slot in said guide plate andbetween the guide plates at each side thereof to fold said LAWRENCE r.MUSTEE.

